For every television series that can trace its lineage back to a motion picture – think The Odd Couple or M*A*S*H or Friday Night Lights or Fame – there are a plethora of ill-advised attempts to turn a popular motion picture into a backdoor pilot for a TV series. Would you believe, for example, the motion picture A League of Their Own was repurposed as a half-hour sitcom? Yeps.
And today, have I got a treat for you. Ten clips from television sitcoms that drew their inspiration from popular motion pictures of the 1970’s and 1980’s. Be warned. This is not for the weak of heart.
DELTA HOUSE
That’s right. They actually tried to make a sitcom out of Animal House. And they even got a few of the cast members to reprise their roles for the TV show. To explain the absence of John Belushi from the show, they announced that Bluto Blutarsky had joined the Army – but that his younger, more slovenly brother Blotto Blutarsky (played by Josh Mostel) had enrolled at Faber College. Urgh.
UNCLE BUCK
Okay, you can’t hire John Candy for this show, but I understand that Kevin Meany works for cheap.
DOWN AND OUT IN BEVERLY HILLS
Yep. Remember the movie with Nick Nolte and Richard Dreyfus and Bette Midler and Little Richard and Mike the Dog? Well, they tried to make a sitcom out of the movie. And the best they could do was hire Mike the Dog to reprise his role.
FERRIS BUELLER
Nope, not Matthew Broderick. It’s Charlie Schlatter. We will now pause while everyone in the place goes, “Who?” This show does have an early acting appearance by Jennifer Aniston. Yes, THAT Jennifer Aniston.
FAST TIMES
There’s always been reports that Ray Walston detested his role as “Uncle Martin” on My Favorite Martian. Comparatively, that must have been Shakespeare compared to his rehashing of the role of Mr. Hand.
BILL AND TED’S EXCELLENT ADVENTURES
I watched this when it originally aired. It looked almost like a community theater production, with the main characters doing caricatures of how they think Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves might interpret their roles as Bill and Ted. Oh, my eyes… my eyes…
MY BIG FAT GREEK LIFE
This was a show that simply imploded. Somewhere along the way, it became the Nia Vardalos show instead of an ensemble comedy program.
STIR CRAZY
Remember the Richard Pryor / Gene Wilder motion picture about two normal guys that were arrested on a bum charge and sent to jail? Great film. Too bad the only thing in common this TV show has with that film is the title.
GUNG HO
And finally, here’s an adaptation of one of Michael Keaton’s early comedies. Remember the film in which a Japanese automaker comes in to purchase a Pittsburgh auto factory? And remember all the hijinks associated therewith? Yeah… there are moments in this series that make a Charlie Chan film seem authentic.
I figured you could handle these clips… because I wasn’t going to burden you with Friday the 13th: The Series just yet. Maybe another time. After you’ve had enough Drammamine from the previous 10 video clips.
Chuck The Writer 